What is Investment Banking?

  • Raise capital (Equity Capital Markets/Debt Capital Markets) through various products
  • Advise companies on financing, M&A, A&D and restructuring
  • “Sell-side”
  • Investment Banking Activities
    • IBD
    • Equity Research
    • Sales
    • Trading

Lifestyle

What will I do as an investment banker?

  • 80 - 100 hour work weeks (including weekends and some holidays)
  • $$$
  • Make Excel your best friend
  • Lots of exit opportunities and room for professional growth
    • Industry
    • Hedge Fund
    • Private Equity
    • Endowments
    • Business School

Layout of the Industry

 

Bulge Brackets

large, globally recognized, lending capabilities, full range of services

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Citi, Deutsche Bank, UBS

Middle-Market

regional and smaller sized deals

 

Piper Jaffray, Jefferies, Houlihan Lokey

Elite Boutiques / Advisory

fewer capabilities but great reprutation

 

Evercore, VR, Lazard, Greenhill, Moelis


Industry vs. Product Groups

Industry Groups

A subset of global marketplace on which a specific office focuses

Healthcare, Tech, Energy, Consumer Retail, etc.

Houston -> Energy (Upstream, Midstream, Downstream, OFS)

Product Groups

What type of deals on which you will work

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Acquisitions & Divestures (A&D), Restructuring, Leveraged Finance


Firms Recruiting at Rice


Recruiting

What can I expect from Investment Banking recruiting?

Late February - Early March

Information Sessions

Dress Code: Business Formal

Try to leave an impression, talk to enough people, get business cards, send follow up emails

Late March

Coffee Chats/Contact Bankers

Dress Code: Business Casual

Use this as an opportunity to get a good understanding of culture, send a follow up email

April

Interviews

Dress Code: Business Formal

First Round Interviews: 25-30 minutes, Behavioral and Technical questions

Super Days: Several conversations with MDs, VPs, Associates, Analysts; be prepared for behavioral and technical; this an all day event